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Thursday, 2 June 2016

We worked really hard on developing this exhibition and are quite proud of our outcome. We made lots of progress and have learned many new skills.

Our first action is to buy a minimal amount of animals tested products as this will help the animals. Our second action is to encourage others to adopt and help pets in adoption centers. We did this by handing more than 100 brochures to adopt pets, save lives. Our final action we did was to raise awareness as a group.

A challenge our group faced was unreliable websites and research. We dealt with this by cross-checking references. Another challenge our group faced was disagreements about things. We dealt with this by talking it out. Although we faced various challenges we had several accomplishments as well. Some of our accomplishments were being good time managers, getting lots of research done, and communicating with people outside of school.

Tips

-Researching

Organise research in grids so it’s easierat later stages

Try not to go off-task, try partnering up with someone who doesn't go off-task that easily

Link helpful websites that provide a lot of information on your topic so other people can read it too, this can help with seeing different viewpoints

Make sure that the information is RRR (Relevant, Reliable, Reading Level)

If there are any inappropriate advertisements, use extensions like clearly and ad blocker

-Collaboration Tips:

If there are any disagreements, try and compromise so it’s a win-win for everyone

Divide and conquer, divide tasks among group members so they can be completed quickly

Treat each other equally and make sure everyone has an equal amount of jobs

-Communication Tips:

Make sure each person has equal amounts of airtime ( equal amounts of time to talk)

Try and create a strategy so you can all have equal amounts of airtime, for example, the person with the sticky note is the only person that can talk

-Boards:

CARP (Contrast, Alignment, Repetition and Proximity

Make sure the board does not have too many words or your whole script

Your board is there to support what you’re saying

Some of what took away are to plan ahead and don't wait to the last minute because you could be rushing in the last week. Another thing we took away is to dig deeper to find out as much as possible.

Thank you to all the viewers of our blog and for commenting on our posts!

Wednesday, 18 May 2016

On Monday we went to the SPCA. While there we asked the deputy our interview questions. Here are some of our questions

What happens to the animal if it doesn't get adopted?

Why do you think people harm animals in Singapore?

How do you treat the animals?

After the interview we got to look around the actual shelter which was a bit sad because there we all those dogs in there waiting for someone. It really made me wonder why people would hurt such loveable animals. While also there we went to the shop and bought badges to wear on the exhibition night.I think this trip is really valuable because we found out why animal cruelty is happening and we got to see around the actual shelter to find out what happens when an animal gets to the shelter. The top 4 reasons that animal cruelty happens is

For Money

Neglect

Pleasure

No Time

Because of all these reasons, so many animals suffer. The trip really helped us and the AaAA's get lots of information.

Monday, 16 May 2016

Recently we went on a trip to the SPCA to get their perspective on animal cruelty in Singapore. This trip helped us take our thinking further by talking to the people there and getting more information from them. We got to see the dogs and cats in their separate cages.

From these observations we know that their cages are not to small give them space to walk around a little. We found that the big dogs get much bigger cages compared to the kittens.

The questions that we asked there were:

What are the daily routines of the animals?

How do you treat the animals?

What is the average amount of animals you host per month?

What is the average amount of animals people adopt per year?

What happens to the animals if they don't get adopted within an amount of time?

In such a safe place like Singapore, why do you think is the main reason of people harming animals?

Some answers we got are:

Dogs - Enclosures get cleaned, they get fed, then walked in big spaces, and showered 1 a week. Cats - Their cages get cleaned, and they get fed.

They give their pets a good amount of space, shelter, food, water, walks for exercise, and lots of care.

300 unwanted or abandoned animals per month.

Around 1000 pets get adopted every year.

They have dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, and sometimes guinea pigs.

They keep their pets until they're adopted.

The main reasons why people are harming animals is because they think they are higher than their pets, they get frustrated with their pets, they don’t know how to care for them, and because don’t have time.

My group and I are now progressing towards the end of the research phase. As this is happening, we also have more questions to pose from our inquiry and there is a list of them below.

What are the main reasons that influence people to mistreat animals?

How can we encourage people to treat animals better?

How might we make sure our action is sustainable and it is successful?

What would the world be like if there was no animal cruelty?

From our research, my thinking about it has become much deeper. I have also realised animal cruelty is is a huge issue. More than anything else, I am most excited to take action and make a difference.

I just think it might seem like a really small difference in this whole world, but it actually makes a really big difference to the animals. Something that I am going to take away from this is no matter how small your difference might seem, remember it is making a big difference to the person/animal.

Wednesday, 11 May 2016

My group and I are now progressing towards the end of the research phase. As this is happening, we also have more questions to pose from our inquiry and there is a list of them below.

What are the main reasons that influence people to mistreat animals?

How can we encourage people to treat animals better?

How might we make sure our action is sustainable and it is successful?

What would the world be like if there was no animal cruelty?

From our research, my thinking about it has become much more deeper. I have also realised animal cruelty is is a huge issue. More than anything else, I am most excited to take action and make a difference.

I just think it might seem like a really small difference in this whole world, but it actually makes a really big difference to the animals. Something that I am going to take away from this is no matter how small your difference might seem, remember it is making a big difference to the person/animal.

Monday, 9 May 2016

In our research over the past week we have been looking into a very useful site called PETA kids. This site has really helped us answer one of our essential questions that we were having trouble answering before. We know that PETA kids is reliable because it is an organisation. It rescues animals that are in starvation, captivity, badly hurt, tested on, etc. This site told us how animals react when they are harmed which was part of our focus. From the information that PETA kids gave us, I concluded that animals are mainly physically abused, abandoned and killed. I also took away that many animals around the world are being mistreated and are near death because of some humans. A question I have after doing this research is what is the main reason why people are hurting animals?

Thursday, 5 May 2016

During this week, we have been at the peak of our research for Exhibition.

One of the sites I have been looking at is for researching has been PETA Kids which is really helpful.

I know the information PETA Kids has given me has been relevant because it has been based on our topic, reliable because it is an organisation and it helps animals all around the world and it is readable for us kids because it is made specially to help kids understand and has slightly easier language.

PETA Kids one of the many things I’ve taken away from PETA Kids is all the cases and the rescues of animals. There seem to be so many and it is amazing how some people like Sam Simon, the co-founder of the TV show The Simpsons, was involved in saving a horse named Valediction. According to PETA Kids adopting pets is better than buying them from a breeder. A quote they stated on this was “Every time someone buys an animal, another animal in a shelter loses his or her chance at finding a loving forever home—it’s heartbreaking!”

In exhibition we are at one of the biggest stages, Researching. As we are the animal cruelty group we looked into sites like SPCA to find out. we recorded our finding on a doc and shared them with our mentor. Working with the awesome and amazing animals we are trying to go to SPCA on Monday the 9th. So far we are doing well in researching however I know I need to research more.

Tuesday, 3 May 2016

I am very happy with our topic because we are all passionate about it. We are all interested to know more and are trying to research deeper. I think animal cruelty is a huge problem and we should all do our part and try to avoid the animal cruelty that is happening. I really want to find out what we can do and how we can help prevent this big issue. After doing the research we have done so far I have realised how big of a problem this is. Many people in just singapore are abusing these animals a lot. I think that there is so much information about this topic that can help us and that we need to look into more. Overall, I am very hooked into to this topic and I am excited to find out more.

Tuesday, 26 April 2016

As my group and I have been working through our Exhibition, we have been collaborating really well together as we have not had any major conflicts or disagreements.

We have now completely decided our focus and essential questions for Exhibition and are now really close to the researching phase. I think collaboration is probably all of our strengths because we seem to be really good at it.

Collaboration is a really important skill for Exhibition because we are going to be working together for such a long time. If we stop collaborating well, basically, we won’t achieve anything.

Some of the things my group and I are doing really well while collaborating are:

Giving each member equal amounts of air- time

Helping each other

Having valuable pockets of conflict

Resolving conflict and maintaining peace

Dividing and conquering tasks

Supporting each other

One of the things my group and I can improve on in collaboration is listening to each other and not getting distracted (on computers mainly).

In Exhibition one of the biggest part is getting along with your group. Some group do it well and some don't. there is some conflict but that is normal. In OUR group though we sometimes disagree but normally we agree easily. When we have a lot of jobs to do we normally spilt them up with each other. but I think we do pretty well with collaboration in the group!

Monday, 25 April 2016

During our exhibition work today we needed to collaborate a lot. Overall We have been collaborating well together and making good progress. We had a few differing opinions and ideas for our focus and what specific area we would like to look more into. Our aim was to find an overarching idea that would fit with all our interests in animal cruelty. We collaborated and resolve our minor conflict between the two main ideas we had. We were all good at working together to chose one idea that was in our sphere of influence and would could take action on.

Thursday, 21 April 2016

SAIS… Grade 6… So Much Learning!

Today, we had a few grade 6’s visit us and share their experiences of the Exhibition they hosted.

We also visited SAIS (Stamford American School) and had an insight into how our Exhibition could look like in the end. The grade 6’s who came in today, also shared a few tips, “what to do’s” and “what not to do.” Those tips are listed below.

Try and merge in everyone’s interests together

Communicating and collaborating well are key things to look at

When people are getting off task, pair them up with somebody who’s on task

4 weeks flies by really fast so make sure everything is done for when it needs to be done

For the last few minutes of each lesson take the time to discuss what needs to be done and by when

The learning I took away from the SAIS Exhibition is:

Don’t have too many words on the display

Don’t rush through the talking, explain it nice and thoroughly

Speak with a clear voice

Make sure the graphics that you use are relevant and appropriate

Graphics should not be too distracting for the audience

Organise what you need before- hand so you are ready

I found all this learning really valuable and I feel much more comfortable since I now know more about Exhibition. I can’t wait to see the end results of this exciting unit and I know it will turn out well.

When grade 6 came in, my most valuable learning was that in order to achieve success you need to be collaborative and work together. They also said to be responsible and organised with you things. Another important thing was to make sure we live up to the due dates of tasks that are set up by your group, teacher and mentor.

In S.A.I.S I found that I got out the most information from the groups that were creative with their props and equipment. Those groups hooked me in more and they're displays were very eye catching. One of the ideas that I thought were good was a quiz at the end. Quizzes show whether your audience was listening or not. Some groups used videos, Either videos they made or relevant videos from the internet.